MasterChef Canada Season 1 Finale Recap

And Then There Were Two

Eric Chong and Marida Mohammed are the two remaining home chefs in the first season of MasterChef Canada.

Pino and Josh are rooting for Eric, while Kaila thinks Marida is going to win. Those eyes of hers get misty saying that Marida is the most beautiful person she has ever known.

Their challenge is a 3 course dinner. Three servings of appetizer, entree  and dessert.They are allowed 10 minutes in the pantry.

First up, they have 60 minutes to prepare an appetizer. Marida chooses a pumpkin soup with creme fresh and pig tail, while Eric decides to make crispy pork belly with dumplings. Alvin says a soup must be very well done at this stage of the game to impress him. As Claudio walks up to Marida, she spills the soup on him.

Marida's soup goes over well with Michael, Alvin and Claudio. They agree she has elevated the soup and her presentation skills have improved dramatically. Eric's turn. Alvin says it's a very ambitious dish.  Claudio says one of his slices of pork was dry.

Next up is the entree. Marida makes Taro Steamed Cod with Cucumber Chutney. Michael warns her that the cod will dry out if its overcooked after she tells him its pretty forgiving. Eric makes Egg Noodles with Poached Lobster Sauce. Claudio is afraid that he might overcook the lobster is he stir fries it after cooking.

Michael tells Eric that he has learned how to cook lobster. Alvin tells him that he has learned to mix east and west cooking together. All three chefs like Marida's dish but Michael says her serving size was insufficient for a main course. It was...one small piece of cod, not much larger than a meatball.

Dessert. They have one hour. Marida makes Apple Crumble with Coconut Ice Cream and Warm Rum Sauce, while Eric makes an Asian  Tempura Banana Split and two types of ice cream. He has difficulty shredding the coconut. Both home cooks use liquid nitrogen to freeze the ice cream. Claudio says Marida is looking confident, but they are very impressed with Eric making two different ice creams...infusing the liquid nitrogen simultaneously into the two mixtures. It looked pretty damn cool.

All thre judges like Marida's dessert, although Michael says she should have removed the skin to make it more elegant. They think Eric's dessert was very innovative.

Michael, Alvin and Claudio believe that Marida and Eric have just cooked the meals of their lives. It will be a very hard decision.

Here's my opinion: Marida's dishes showed a more complex flavour. Eric's dishes proved to be innovated and complex in design.

There can only be one winner. Michael, Alvin and Claudio agree that the winner is....

21 year old Eric Chong!!!